Flying machine



F. HARTH F LYING MACHINE Dec. 1, 1925- Filed Jul 26. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR a f g ATTORNEY I FLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Dec. 1, 1925. 1,564,065

F. HARTH FLYING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1922 3 sheets-Shae; 3

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEDRICH EARTH, OF BAMBERG, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 LOUIS EARTH, OF

CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

FLYING Macrame.

Application filed July 26, 1922. Serial No. 577,610-.'

Toall whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, FRIEDRICH HARTH, acitizen of the Republic ofGermany, residing at Bamberg, in the Free State of Bavaria and Republicof Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in FlyingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an aerial vehicle having carrying planes whichare movably supported so as to adapt themselves to the currents of airor wind and in which an alteration in its position relatively to theground, ascent or descent, is attained by in clining the elevator ruddersimultaneously in the same direction as the main carrying plane.

The object of the invention is to make the planes movable to such anextent that the most favorable adjustment for flying is attained in theseveral parts of the planes and that simultaneously the equilibrium isretained.

The invention also has the object to adjust the elevator in; the samesense as the carryingplanes and to effect thereby ascent or descent byutilization of the wind. In this way the invention aims at utilizing theenergy of the wind in the same way in which this energy is utilized by asoaring bird effecting in this way a saving in the power of the engineor even permitting to eliminate the engine if the current of air issufficiently strong.

Carrying planes are already known in connection with aerial vehicles inwhich the two halves of the planes are mounted so that they can beinclined in the same direction. orin opposite directions, or in whichthe halves of the planes may be inclined about a transverse axis in suchmanner that the planes remain :in fixed position with respect tothe bodyof the aeroplane at their central portion, or in which the two halves ofthe planes upon inclination of the planes remain rigid in themselves.

In order to alter the effect of the carrying surfaces attempts have beenmade to vary the cross sectional area or contour simultaneously with theinclination of the planes. It is also already known to incline the maincarrying planes and the. elevator rudder in. the same direction for thepurpose of reducing the head resistance as much as possible 1n theascent if this ascent is efiected by propellers alone. This simultaneousinclination of carrying planes and elevator rudder in the same directionalso has been proposed for the pur pose of utilizing both of theseplanes as sails when the vehicle is on the water.

The object of the arrangements mentioned above is principally themaintenance of stability in longitudinal and transverse direction. Thesearrangements also have the. e

object of varying the carrying or lit-ting power or effecting altitudesteering by varying the angle of incidence. If however, the main. objectis to; be the adaptability of the carrying planes to the currents of airand if the main object is furthermore simultaneously to facilitate easymanipulation of the planes, the arrangements described above as knownare not sufficient. The mere inclination of a rigid carr ing plane abouta. transverse axis is not su cient for the reason that the windconditions may be different on the two sides of the vehicle. Aninclination of the halves of the wings also is not sufficient as long asthese halves of the wings or planes remaln rigid in themselves. A.sufficient adaptability cannot be attained by inclination of the planesas. long as the planes remain in fixed position at their centralportions. If, on the other hand, devices are employed. to move thecentral portion of the planes and thus requiring special manipulation byhandythe entire device loses its practical usefulness. Referring now tothe difference in the currents of air at-the ends of the planes, it willbe seen that .a mere fixed twisting of the carrying planes also will notsuffice for the requirements of adaptability. Furthermore if the axis ofrotationof the planes is arranged so that. it is parallel to the entirelength of the pressureline, easy and continuous manipulation of the.planes during high wind is impossible because in adjusting the planesthis pressure line isthrown suddenly from the front to the rear of theaxis of rotation, or vice versa. Finally also it is not sufiicienttoadjust the elevator in that way in which. it is usually adjusted inaeroplanes, if altitude steering is to be effected by utilization of thewind. Conforming to the purpose of adaptability of the carrying planesthe present invention aims at imparting to the carrying planes-a directacting and increased movability within wide limits. For this purpose'itis fixedly attached again.

endless cable.

fixed motion and rigidity as far as possible.

The invention also aims at a construction in which those portions of theplanes adjacent to the body of the vehicle can be inclined in adifferent degree than the main supporting planes, and this difierence ininclination has been introduced for reasons of stability andadaptability. The invention also provides means for inclining theelevator in the same sense as the carrying planes in order to causethereby ascent or descent from any given position in the air by usingthe wind, whereby also for the purpose of retaining stability, theextent to which the elevator rudder is inclined in the same direction asthe carrying planes can be varied relatively to the carrying planes.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:I

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an aeroplane constructed inaccordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of theinvention.

Fig. 3 is a diagrannnatic view showing in solid and dotted linesdifferent positions of the carrying planes.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modified form of the control leverstructure.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view in perspective of the rudder mechanism andits con- .trol lever.

levers showing only the rudder connections associated therewith.

In Figure 1 the carrying plane consisting of one continuous wing isinovably supported in the points a and b. For the purpose of startingthe inclination and for the purpose of adjusting the two halves of thecarrying surface in opposite directions three cables S S? and S areprovided. These cables are guided over the sheaves w, 1' etc. up to 1'in-thefollowing way: Cable S is associated with the left half of thecarrying plane. It is fixed in the point 0 and is guided over therollers r and r to the point 0? at which In a similar way the cable Sassociated with the right half of the carrying plane is fixed at e andguided over the rollers r and 1' to the fixed point of attachment f. Thecable S is associated with the central portion of the carrying plane andis constructed as an It is guided over the rollers r 1", r and rdisposed on the body of the vehicle and over the rollers r andr on thecarrying plane. The cables S and S and S and S respectively are quiteclose to each other for a short stretch at the body of the vehicle andin this part where they are adj acent to each other they are associatedwith two control levers H and H with which they are fixedly connected.Each of these control levers H and H is associated in a' known way withone half of the carrying planes. The control levers have their fulcrumsat D and D and may be moved independently of each other either bothforwardly or both rearwardly or either one forwardly and the other onerearwardly.

The operation of this device is now as follows: If the two controllevers H and H are simultaneously moved in opposite directions, thecentral cable S will simply run over its rollers and will leave thecentral portion of the carrying plane uninfiuenced in its position. Onthe other hand, the cables S and S will be pulled through this movementof the levers in opposite directions and will therefore twistthe entiresurface of the carrying plane from the centri al portion out over theentire length there- 0 Depending upon the extent of inclination of onelever as compared with the opposite lever the two halves 'of thecarrying plane also will follow this turning or twisting movement to adifferent degree, whereby therefore the entire carrying surface may beally up to a cross-section containing the points 6, f. Naturally theopposite movement also may be imparted to the carrying surface.

If, however, the control levers are moved both in the same directioneither forward or back, the cables S and S will impart a movement toboth of the halves of the carrying plane in the same direction.Further-- more the central portion lof'the carrying plane tensioned bythe cableS will follow this movement in the same direction, but to adifferent extent. This means that the entire carrying surface is rockedor swung about a transverse axiscontaining the points a, b and theinclinations of'the two'ends of the carrying planes or a'erofoils arediflcrent from that of the central portion. This difference in theinclination of the different portions is due to the peculiar arrangementof the cables and forms an essential part-of the present invention. Thereason for the difference in variation of inclination of the LOO centralpart with respectto that of thee'nds of the plane is to be seen in thisthat the cable S exerts a pull upon the plane more in vertical directionwhile the cables S and S engage the ends of the plane under an acuteangle Hence under normal conditions the inclination of the centralportion of the plane will always be smaller than that of the outer ends.Figure 3 of the drawings shows diagrammatically the front portion oredge of the carrying" plane in the normal position I and it shows thisportion in dotted lines in the position II which is the positionoccupied by the edge if the" cables S and S as well as S are moved thesame distance so and in. the same direction by means of the levers.

In order to provide for the possibility of regulating the inclination ofthe central portion of the plane as desired, a second pair of levers Hmay be provided in addition to the main levers H and H These auxiliarylevers H have their fulcrums at The fulcrums D are staggered withrespect to the other fulcrums, as shown. in

Figure & of the drawings, and the levers engage at their lower ends thecables S" while the cables S and S remain in engagement with the lowerends of the main levers H and H as shown diagrammatically in Fig. Thefulcrums of the levers H being higher above the cable S than thefulcrums of the main lever H and H it obvious that the lower ends of thelevers H, will travel over a longer path than the other levers and willthereforev exert more of. a pull or tension on the central cable S thanon the cables 8 and The result of thisarrangement is that the centralportion of the carrying plane may be inclined differently from the outerends of the carrying plane depending upon the fulcrums I). It is alsopossible to arrange these fulcrums adjustably and to effect thereby arelativevariation of the central portion at any desired instant.

The operation of the control levers H and H mayalso take place in' such.a way that one lever is moved to a larger extent than the other so thatthe right half or the left half of the carrying plane takes acorresponding share ofthe total inclination which amounts to a variabletwisting or warping of the entire plane from a cer tain cross section.

Instead of effecting the desired inclination of the carrying plane bymeans of cables, it is also possible to do this by torsion tubes andlever transmission combined with a differential, as showndiagrammatically in Figure 2. The carrying planes may be moved. by thetorsion tubes T and T with the pertaining levers H and H or the levers hand h respectively. The latter, therefore, are connected with the maincontrol levers H and H by rigid bars or rods S and S the levers H and Hha'ving their fulcrums at D 'and D For the purpose of effecting themovement of the portions of the carrying plane near the body thedifferential F is provided which is also moved by the rods 8 and 3* fromthemain levers H and H Upon operating both of the main levers in thesame direction the central portion of the carrying plane is moved in adifferent degree since the ratio of transmission for the differential isdifferent from that for the torsion tubes. This ratio of transmissionmay be varied as desired by altering the point at which the rods engagethe lovers. If the control levers, however, are moved in oppositedirection, the differential rocks about the point D which is located atthe front spar andin this way the central portion of the carrying planeis left motionless. In the same way all of the other movements may beeffected as have been described above when cables are employed.

The described arrangements produce the result that the right half of thecarrying plane and the left half may be moved independently of eachother into that position Which is the most favorable position withrespect to the wind, and furthermore, that upon inclining the entiresurface of the carrying plane each portion of the carrying plane mayreceive that position which ismost favorable with respect to the wind,whereby the required adaptability of the carrying plane for soaring byutilizing wind energy may be attained, and whereby furthermore, at thesame time all of the requirements for maintaining stability are compliedwith,

The adjustment of the carrying planes as effected by the arrangementdescribed, takes place about an axis which is located at an angle to theentire pressure line. Or-

dinarily, therefore, the front edge of the carrying surface and the axisof rotation will not be parallel toeach other. Normally the axis ofrotation will cross the carrying plane at an angle.

The effectof this arrangement is that upon changing the'inclinations ofthe carrying planes the pressure line is not shifted suddenly or injerksbetween the front and the rear of the axis of rotation, thus resultingin excessive stresses due to the control, but this shifting of thepressure line is effected gradually when changing the .inclination. p

This arrangement, furthermore has the advantage that the strains due tothe controlling movements remain within moderate limits and that astable inclination of the carrying plane may be effected quite easil ina strongwind. i

V the cable' control.

The movable elevator. rudder "J is connected by means of the cables Sand S with the main levers H and H in such manner that this rudder maybe inclined in the same direction as the carrying surface and that itmay remain in neutral position while at the same time the carrying planeundergoes some movement. The arrangement, furthermore, provides for thepossibility of varying the degree of inclination of the elevator rudderwith respect to the inclination of the carrying surface. Fig. 5. Y

The purpose of this arrangement is to effect an ascent by utilizing thewind, only without using motor power, or, to make the ascent in a morerational way. By adjusting the elevator of an aeroplane without motivepower in the conventional way, that is negative when ascending, arational ascent with the aid of windis impossible. In fact the aeroplanewill slide back. If, however,

'the main carrying surface and the elevator are inclined in the samedirection positively, the effect will be that not only the front 30rtionof the body but also the rear end 0 the body are lifted. In this way anascent is possible by utilizing the wind only. If both of these surfacesare adjusted negatively, rapid descent may be attained in about the sameway as can frequently be observed in birds. v

In order to attain this desired adjustment the following. arrangment ismade. The controlling cables'S and S Fig. 5, are adjustably connectedwith the levers H and H at the points 9, h, z', k by sliding sleeves Gand G and set screws S or any other suitable means. The controllingcables are guided parallel to each other and therefore, can be operatedparallel to each other or their points of engagement may be broughttogether with the fulcrums D and D as indicated in Fig. 7 of thedrawings, of the main levers H and'H in which latter case the elevtatorJ is retained in an indifferent or neutral position. In order to leavethe elevator uninfluenced when operating the levers H and H inoppositedirections for the purpose of twisting the main carrying plane, thecables S and S are guided in a known way over the pulleys r and 7.Figure 5 shows diagrammatically this control of the elevator rudder.Figures invention may be constructed in other man- 6 and 7 show the twoextreme possibilities of The adjustability of the points of attachmentis attained by the arrangement illustrated in Figure 8. The ends of thecables S and S are secured to the slides G and Gr which are movable ontheslide bars K and K The slides are connected with each other in somesuitable way, as for instance, by the endless cord S which is guidedover the pulleys r and r. The slide G furthermore is connected with asliding handle L on the hand lever H through a. connecting rod N. Thelever H has the same construction as shown in Figure 8. V

The arrangement as shown in Figure 8 operatesin the following way: Ifthe handles L are moved to their uppermost position the slides G and Gare moved away from each other and the cables take a position as shownin Figure 6. If, however, the handles L are lowered the slides G and G?are moved towards each other that is up to the fulcrums of the levers Hand H The controlling cables are then in" a neutral position as shown inFigure 7. Under normal conditions of flight these controlling cableswill occupy the last named poistion, Fig. 7, in which position the gustsof wind are in the main caught by the principal carrying surface. Theelevator then performs the function of adirecting surface only. If,however, altitude steering is desired then the controllng cables S" andS are moved into the position as shown in Figure 6, by pushing thehandles L upward on the levers .H and H The cables are then in paralleland the elevator can only be inclined in the same sense as the mainsupporting planes. If it is desired to fly higher, both of thesesurfaces will be ad-- justedpositively; if it is desired to descend bothof them will be adjusted negatively.

'It is also possible through partly lowering or raising the handles L toadjust the degree of movement of the elevator. Contrary to theconventional method of steering, as-

. surfaces as well as for biplanes or for aeroplanes with more than twosuperposed carryingsurfaces. Instead of utilizing controling cables ortorsion tubes other means for transmitting the control may be used.

It is, of course, to be understood that the levers, and means connectingsaid levers and aerofoil for changing the form of the aerofoil bywarping and inclining it to an equal degree on each side of the fuselageand at a different degree at the transverse center of the aerofoil.

2. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil, levers, and means connecting said levers and aerofoil forchanging the form of the aerofoil by warping and inclining it to anequal degree on each side of the fuselage and at a different degree atthe transversecepter of the aerofoil, said means adapted to warp andincline front or rear portions of aerofoil in the same or oppositedirections.

3. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil pivotally supported from the fuselage to permit inclining ofthe front or rear edge of the aerofoil, levers, and means connectingsaid levers and aerofoil for changing the form of the aerofoil by movingthe center and each end at different transverse angular degrees withrespect to each other.

4:. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil pivotally supported from the fuselage to permit inclining ofthe front or rear edge of the aerofoil, levers, and means connectingsaid levers and aerofoil for changing the form.

of the aerofoil by warping and inclining it to an equal degree on eachside of the fuselage, and at a different degree at the transverse centerof the aerofoil.

5. In aircraft, a fuselage, an aerofoil, levers, means connecting saidlevers and aerofoil for changing the form of the aerofoil by Warping andinclining it to an equal degree on each side of the fuselage, and at adifferent degree at the transverse center of the aerofoil upon equalmovement of the levers in the same direction, said means arrangedwhereby upon equal movement of said levers in opposite directions thetrans verse center of the aerofoil-will remain unaffected.

6. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil pivotally supported from the fuselage to permit inclining ofthe front or rear edge of the aerofoil, levers, and means connectingsaid levers and aerofoil for changing the form of the aerofoil byWarping and inclining it to an equal degree on each side of thefuselage, said aerofoil being distorted along an axis extending at anoblique angle to the line of pressure against the aerofoil.

7. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil, levers, means connecting said levers and aerofoil forchanging the form of the aerofoil by warping and inclining it to anequal degree on each side of the fuselage, and a second set of leversfor changing the degree of inclination of the transverse central portionof the aerofoil.

8. In aircraft for utilizing air currents for motive power, a fuselage,an aerofoil, levers, means connecting said levers and aerofoil forchanging the form of the aerofoil by Warping and inclining it, anelevator mounted to be inclined parallel to the inclination of theaerofoil, control cables connected to said elevator and said levers, andmeans for adjusting the relative positions of the connection between theables and levers and the fulcrum of the levers to vary the operatingrange of the elevator.

9. In an aircraft adaptable for utilizing air currents, a fuselage, andan aerofoil pivotally supported from the fuselage and means for warpingthe aerofoil along an axis extending at .an oblique angle to the line ofpressure against the aerofoil.

10. In air craft for utilizing air currents for motor power, fuselage,an aerofoil pivotly supported from the fuselage, levers and meansconnecting said levers and aerofoil for changing the form of theaerofoil by independently warping each end thereof from any point alongthe aerofoil or any point outside the aerofoil to degrees of differentangles with respect to each other.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRIEDRICH HARTH.

